Reported tornadoes strike Ontario during Saturday’s severe storms
Widespread thunderstorms across southern Ontario on Saturday resulted in at least two tornado reports across the region
Residents spotted at least two tornadoes across southern Ontario on Saturday as severe thunderstorms pushed across the region.
The first tornado reports came in shortly after 1:00 p.m. just north of Lindsay, about a 30-minute drive west of Peterborough.
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Officials with the Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP) confirmed on social media that a touchdown occurred near Lindsay.
“There are multiple photos and videos, including a video showing tree branches being lofted,” the NTP said. They added that “some evidence of minor damage has so far been reported.”
The second tornado report came in near the community of Woodstock around 3:30 p.m., resulting in some damage reports and scattered power outages across the area. Experts with the NTP will survey the damage to assess whether or not a tornado occurred here.
Environment supported development of some rotation
A muggy airmass parked over southern Ontario provided a rich environment to fuel widespread thunderstorms throughout the region during the day Saturday. A cold front pushing in from the west, along with multiple lake-breeze boundaries, served as the triggers to kickstart storm development.
Some of those storms turned severe, capable of producing high winds, hail, and very heavy rainfall. A few of the thunderstorms latched onto those lake-breeze boundaries and began to rotate, prompting several tornado warnings.
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Experts with the Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP) will investigate the reports and any potential damage over the next few days to confirm how many tornadoes did indeed occur.
Confirmed tornadoes would add to Canada’s growing count
Canada’s tornado count is running well ahead of the annual average after multiple rounds of severe weather slammed the Prairies during the first half of summer.
The NTP’s official tornado count reflects 84 confirmed twisters across Canada through Aug. 8, with the vast majority of those touchdowns in Saskatchewan (34) and Alberta (27).
Ontario has seen eight confirmed tornadoes so far this year, not including Saturday’s storms, while Quebec has officially notched five twisters as of the first week of August.